As Above, So Below / Viktor x Reader / Arcane Fanfic

Shameful Company

The speed at which your gaze darts from Viktor to the woman in the doorway while they talk is almost dizzying.

You notice that her face looks a little flush and she tends to fidget with her glasses when Viktor speaks or even looks at her. She did just come out from a warm-ish building, maybe the cold air is fogging up her glasses or something...

"We must've had the same idea." A soft grin creeps onto his face while he looks from her up to the top of the building. His brows raise while he examines how impressive the size of the structure is. Still, he seems genuinely happy that she got there before he did, even though that probably meant he lost out on renting the space.

"I guess so..." She sounds a little guilty about beating him to the punch. Must be a good spot for the work they're trying to do. "Although maybe we could share it?" She looks over at the man that you assumed had been showing her around.

"Can't, we need the rest of the space for apprentices—only have enough room for one extra." The man looks over at you, almost sizing you up and you turn your head while you try to place where you've seen him.

Viktor purses his lips, shaking his head before he turns back to Sky. "That's alright, I'm happy you found a place for your work." His smile is warm, even sweet when he meets her gaze again and you can't help but notice her eyes darting from him, downwards, back up—that looks dizzying too. "And I'm excited to see what you present." You can tell he actually means what he's saying to her and doesn't seem put out at all. You think she must be a really good friend until you notice her body language.

She's fidgeting with her glasses again, and unable to hold eye contact with him before she's barely able to murmur "You too."

...ahhh hell.

She likes him too.

"You're The Butcher's boy aint ya?"

All of the color drained from your face when the soot-covered man spoke. You feel both Sky and Viktor's eyes on you while you swallow and try to quickly navigate how to handle this. Anytime you heard someone refer to your father as 'The Butcher', it definitely wasn't a compliment.

"Well...Remy's now." You finally placed where you knew him, he's one of the blacksmiths that helped forge the weapons your father needed years ago. You haven't seen him since you were a kid, but this wasn't exactly the time or place you wanted this reunion to occur.

He scoffs and his shoulders tightly pull the fabric of his shirt when he crosses his arms, causing the muscles in his forearms to bulge even more. You don't remember him being quite this behemoth, but clearly a lot has changed...except for his pleasant disposition.

"S'pose that's true. I'll never understand why a guy like him would risk his reputation for that son of a bitch's kid."

You catch a view of Viktor over the man's shoulder and his expression is one you haven't seen before. His eyes are piercing, practically boring a hole into the back of the man's head. His brows are knitted tightly and you make a mental note to never get on his bad side.

While you were thankful that he clearly wasn't happy with how this guy was talking to you, you also didn't want to see him upset. This was nothing you hadn't heard before, but watching Viktor witness it was something that hit you harder than you were anticipating.

You gather your composure with quick inhale and address the man. Despite his words creeping under your skin, you brush off his comment and lean into pretending to feel small—which you're sure was his goal anyway.

"Guess he's a sucker for a charity case." You pause when he takes a step towards you and you force a strained smile while you hold your ground. "Lucky me."